Jaune Arc was the single most bored man alive. Pyrrha had been discharged from the infirmary, and he had convinced her to go to classes with Ren and Nora. He knew she would still be processing the night before, so giving her space seemed like a good idea.
It probably was, too. For her anyway.
For Jaune on the other hand, it left him in an empty room with nothing to do. Sighing to himself, he looked over at the IV stand by the bed. The Dust solution it had contained was long gone, but after manifesting his aura when he woke that morning, he had found that it was holding steady.
He wasn't sure if it was combat ready, but it seemed that he was drawing aura from around him again. Certainly, his usual aura levels had held overnight. They hadn't changed at all in four hours, either. So he was probably more or less back to normal.
Normal. That's a dangerous word to throw about, Arc, even in your own head. Jaune rubbed a hand through his own blonde hair, well aware of how powerful jinxing oneself could be. Knowing his luck, the world would equate 'normal' to...
Jaune scanned the empty room with a strange mix of suspicion and hope. That was a tempting line if ever there was one...
Oh come on, you're just going to let that one go?! the blonde exclaimed silently to the ceiling.
He settled back in to his pillow, sighing yet again. Four hours in to the day, and he was already contemplating suicide-by-Pyrrha/Goodwitch by leaving the bed. He knew better though – if he was going to get out of this bed, he would need a damn good reason for it. Something Pyrrha couldn't make him feel guilty over...
Pyrrha...Jaune couldn't help but break out in a massive smile whenever he thought of her. He'd (kind of) told her how he felt, and he wasn't dead! His heart hadn't stopped, she hadn't killed him, he hadn't fallen out a nearby window and no-one had interrupted them. It had been...better than he could have hoped for.
Plus, she was willing to try! To see if they could work together. That thought alone managed to tack another centimetre on to his smile.
Inspiration struck, and Jaune scanned the room quickly. He identified what he was looking for quickly; his possessions. Crocea Mors, his armour and his scroll were all behind the Matron's desk near the door. Said Matron was currently out and about, as she apparently was most of the time.
Jaune remembered that she had come in the previous night, to make sure no one was staying past visitor hours. Pretty average all around – average height, average build, average looks. A brunette with green eyes, she had seemed somewhere around fifty. Her authority, however, would have bent a steel bar.
RWBY, Ren and Nora had been summarily ejected from the room. Thankfully, the Matron hadn't noticed the slightly inflated clothing many of them had. Stuffing their outfits with feathers was certainly a novel solution... Jaune knew that particular memory would be staying with him for a long time.
But since the Matron wasn't here...
Jaune swung his legs off the bed much as he had the previous night. He'd had roughly five hours of sleep the night before, but had caught an additional four once Ren and Nora turned up to take Pyrrha to class.
Thus rested, he was able to move with a fair approximation of normality. He was still tiring quickly, but he could shuffle along without the IV now. He reached the desk a minute later, and managed to retrieve his scroll. With the device in hand, he retreated the way he had come.
Settling back into bed with a sigh, Jaune activated the scroll. He was relieved to discover that it was fully charged, and he began to conduct a search of Vale's data cloud, a small smile on his face.
This was going to be good.
Pyrrha Nikos was the most conflicted woman, if not in the world, then certainly in Beacon. She sat with her team mates in Professor Port's Grimm Studies class, dutifully translating the old veteran's stories into notes...but her heart wasn't in it.
No, her heart was busy trying to decide if it wanted to fly or implode. Jaune had taken the news very well...in fact, he had taken it extraordinarily well. He'd actually used it as an opportunity to ask her... well, what had he really asked her?
She wasn't even entirely sure. All she knew for sure was that she had agreed to it, and that it made her happy. Even thinking about it brought a quiet smile to her lips, which didn't go unnoticed by her observant team mate.
Ren had seen the looks on both their faces that morning, and had also seen the looks they shared. Something had happened over the night which had his leader and Beacon's ace first year smiling like children. It hardly took a genius to figure out what.
Ren wore his own small smile that morning, just the ends of his lips ever so slightly upturned. Well done, Jaune. Well done.
The martial artist turned to his partner, who was resting her chin on her hands with her eyes fixed on Professor Port. She was often like this in his classes; afterwards, it wasn't uncommon for the elder man's stories to end up mixed with her own. From the outside, most would think she'd fallen asleep with her eyes open...but to someone who knew her, she painted a very different picture.
Nora Valkyrie was wearing her own quiet smile...she just did it with her entire body. Jaune is going to get such a hugging after classes... Ren sighed, shaking his head a bit as he turned his attention back to note-taking. To those who knew him, the resignation in his eyes was obvious.
I am stuck spending the day with two girls. One of them is in love, and one of them is probably happier that her friend is in love than her friend is. Jaune, I swear to Monty, if you don't get better soon I'm going to kidnap you and use you for a shield. I can't handle this!
Jaune put his scroll down, having finally ended the first stage of his little project. The bell was about to go for lunch, so he carefully hid the device under his pillow.
The operation must remain completely confidential until the perfect moment. Until then...
Beacon's familiar bell rang out, and even in this quiet part of the school Jaune could hear the thunder of moving feet. He simply lay back and let the sound wash over him, a cacophony of barely-controlled chaos. He'd become used to it by now, having participated in many of those mad dashes himself.
He had only been laying there for around a quarter of an hour when the infirmary door was slowly pushed open, revealing NPR and RWBY. The seven friends each carried trays of their own, a wide range of foods being in evidence, while Nora was also carrying an extra. That tray went to a grateful Jaune, who had an appetite despite spending the day in bed.
"So, Jaune, how are you feeling?" It was Ren who had spoken, and Jaune turned to look at him between bites of sandwich. The martial artist's eyes didn't match the smile on his face. He looked like a man who was staring into the abyss, and contemplating if he would die before he hit the bottom. Jaune understood immediately, and just about managed to keep the sympathy out of his voice.
"I'm doing well Ren, pretty sure I'm fine to get out of here now." Pink eyes shuttered in relief, even if the martial artist's face didn't shift.
"That's really good news, Jaune. I don't suppose you've seen the Matron so we can get permission for her to discharge you?" The blonde was about to answer in the negative, but Pyrrha got there before him.
"Ren, we can't have him discharged just yet. He's only just recovering from a near-death experience, a day isn't enough time to recover from something like that." Next to her, Ruby nodded. Swallowing a mouthful of milk and cookies, she backed up the red-haired warrior.
"Yeah! We don't want him to hurt himself again!" Jaune could almost feel his freedom (and Ren's sanity) slipping away...but help came in the unlikeliest of forms.
"Actually, Ruby, he should be fine. All the medical equipment says so, and since he's obviously been wandering about, there's evidence to support his own assessment." Jaune froze as Blake finished speaking, slowly turning to face his partner, who was gritting her teeth.
"Jaune...why did you leave your bed?" Oh Monty. Jaune scrambled to think of something, even as Ruby and Weiss scrambled to move themselves out of their red-haired friend's way. The edge of his scroll seemed to dig in to his back. His mission needed to remain confidential for now, it wasn't ready for first contact!
"I...saw a bird." Jaune spoke the line with as much sincerity as he could conjure, trying to make himself believe it. While no one actually slapped their palm against their forehead, the collective urge to do it was tangible. Yang, who was standing behind Pyrrha and so was out of her view, was laughing silently at her fellow blonde's plight.
"...A bird." Pyrrha repeated. It only took one glance at her face for Jaune to know she wasn't buying it. She was going to stand up in a moment, and then things were just going to snowball from there...
"Alright, alright. The actual reason I was walking was because I was incredibly bored." Jaune felt like high-fiving himself. Hah! It's actually not a lie, but it isn't the whole truth either! Nice one brain!
The red-haired warrior settled back down, but her eyes quickly scanned Jaune, his bed and then the room they were in. "Ah. I suppose I can understand that..." Jaune let out an internal sigh of relief, which he had no doubt was immediately noticed by Ren. Probably Blake as well, his mind offered.
The faunus girl was far too adept at observation. Having one ninja in his inner circle was enough!
"But anyway. As Blake so kindly pointed out, there's nothing really wrong any more. I'm fine to go back to class." Green eyes and blue locked, one pair searching and one pair reassuring. Pyrrha leaned back and nodded slowly.
"Okay. You can come with us to class...but you are not taking part in sparring today, am I clear?" Jaune lifted his hand in a salute, doing his best to stand at attention from a seated position.
"Yes ma'am!"
Jaune was beginning to wonder if getting discharged had been such a good idea. There were still five hours left in the school day, and two-and-a-half of those hours would be spent in Oobleck's class. They were currently waiting for the good doctor to make his appearance, Jaune's fingers tapping a drum beat on the wood of the desk.
Pyrrha, who was seated beside him, didn't even seem to notice the sound. She was burying herself in the textbook in front of her, trying desperately to clear her mind.
How can he sit there so casually? she wondered, even as her eyes drifted back over to him. How can he be so calm, after last night? She was still looking when the blonde turned to look at her, and she froze. She was graced with a smile, and she couldn't help but return it.
Returning to her textbook, Pyrrha tried to simply ignore the fact that her pulse was most definitely above normal. Her eyes, however, kept slipping from the pages, drifting around the room as her focus shifted. I need something to take my attention away from Jaune...
They alighted upon RWBY, who were seated in benches level with JNPR but to their left. That made it easier to look at them – since she didn't have to look past Jaune, who was rather distracting at the moment.
Pyrrha was surprised to find that Yang was looking right back at her, a strange grin on her face. When she knew the red-haired warrior was looking, she started looking back and forth between her and Jaune, the grin remaining in place.
Understanding her meaning immediately, Pyrrha buried the instinctive blush response. Why should I be embarrassed? That's simple, I shouldn't. So, instead of catering to the blonde's whims, the red-haired warrior gave her a small smirk.
Blinking in surprise, Yang would probably have accepted the challenge and raised the ante, if not for the arrival of Doctor Oobleck. As he seemed to almost pop into existence at his desk and open his textbook, the class buckled in for the high-speed pursuit that was keeping up with their teacher.
Pyrrha spared one last glance for Ruby's older sister, and received a frankly terrifying smile in return. Yang Xiao-Long was not one to let things go...and she was most certainly not going to let this chance pass her by.
Pyrrha Nikos, veteran of the most grueling training Mistral could provide, shivered.
Two and a half hours, or approximately five hours' worth of history, later, JNPR made its way out of Oobleck's class room and toward the training room. All of them walked quite slowly, ostensibly because they were tired – but mostly for their leader's sake. The blonde might have been capable of walking, but he wasn't going at any kind of decent speed.
It was this reduced mobility which allowed RWBY to catch them, and Pyrrha quickly found that her team mates were otherwise engaged in conversation. Ruby was walking beside Jaune, the two of them apparently discussing how modern weaponry would have changed the scenarios of the battle which they had just learned about.
Ren and Blake were making spirited attempts not to be involved in anything, but Nora was making that a veritable impossibility. Weiss had her scroll out, and was seemingly responding to messages she had received while in class.
That left the red-haired warrior completely defenseless when Yang strolled up beside her, settling in to her pace as they walked somewhat behind their team mates. "I might not be a ninja like your friend over there, but I know a thing or two about people. So, which one of you finally got up the courage to tell the other?" The question was asked quietly enough not to carry forward.
Pyrrha tried valiantly to prevent the flush which was trying to climb up her neck. There is absolutely nothing to be embarrassed about. Just because he's your first crush doesn't mean you should act like a girl half your age! "He did." she replied. The blonde beside her raised an eyebrow, whistling lowly.
"Now that I didn't expect. Don't get me wrong, Jaune's a good guy, and a great leader...but I didn't think he had the stones for that." Pyrrha wasn't at all sure what to make of that straightforward assessment, but she didn't appreciate her...partner...being dissed like that.
"Well I guess you underestimated him then." Oh Monty, why am I being so snippish? I'm not normally like this! Apparently Yang agreed, because she almost lost a step.
"Damn, Red, I guess you've got it bad, huh?" Try as she might, Pyrrha could feel her cheeks heating up a little. It was more than enough for a social butterfly like Yang though, who let out a small sigh.
"Oh yeah, real bad. Pardon me for asking, but you haven't had much to do with this before, have you?" Not trusting herself to speak, Pyrrha simply shook her head as a reply. Yang nodded her own head thoughtfully, considering what she knew.
"Alright. I'm gonna go ahead and say you didn't rebuff him, since he's currently walking and has neither broken legs nor a broken heart." That was a fair assessment. "That being the case, I'm also gonna say that you have very little idea of what's going on. Right so far?"
Alternatively damning and thanking her life for surrounding her with so many people who could apparently read her mind at will, Pyrrha simply nodded again.
"Okay then. Tonight, you're coming over to our dorm. I know a thing or two about the dating game, and between the five of us Arc won't even know what hit him." Not even waiting for confirmation, the brawler walked forward to catch up with her little sister, immediately accusing Jaune of trying to steal her away.
Chuckling at her partner's panicked cries, Pyrrha let what had just happened run through her mind. I guess I'm getting dating advice from Yang Xiao Long now...Monty help me.
Jaune had noticed Yang hanging back to speak with his partner as they left History, but he still wasn't entirely sure what that had been about. Pyrrha had come out of the exchange somewhere between resigned and hopeful, and that contrast was beyond his ability to figure out.
Deciding that better men than he had tried to solve the mysteries of women and failed, Jaune turned his attention to the notebook in front of him. He had sketched a map of Vale, and was trying to recall as many of the White Fang Dust heists as he could, noting down any that he thought of. They needed all that Dust for the Breach incident that RWBY stumbled on to...if we can stop their robberies, then we can at least postpone that.
After detailing the rough dates and locations of about seven heists, his mind was beginning to run dry. What I would give for a photographic memory right now...
Sighing, he sat back in his chair, glancing up at the screen detailing aura levels. Russel Thrush was locked in combat with someone Jaune didn't recognise, the two whaling on each other. There was very little technique – just brute strength.
Jaune's next sigh was more disgusted than tired, as he waved a hand through the place were Crocea Mors would have been sheathed if he had it. But of course, his sword had been returned to his locker in accordance with the school rules. Why those rules had left it in the infirmary with him, he didn't understand.
The complete lack of finesse being shown reminded him a lot of how he had used to be. A sword was nothing more than a metal stick in unskilled hands, and his had been truly unskilled. Not even a year of training with Pyrrha had managed to really fix that...
A flash of memory struck as Jaune recalled the feeling of uselessness that had descended on him in the wake of Beacon's fall. His hands clenched around the edge of the surface in front of him, which had so recently supported his writing. Knowing what he now did about aura, and that this outburst would definitely not be good for his, Jaune carefully started breathing in and out, slowly calming down.
Remember Jaune, it didn't happen now. All that remains of that time is in your mind. It can't hurt you, but you can use it – so calm down, and act like a leader. The blonde managed to get his head back in gear, and the fists he had formed unclenched. A minute passed, and Jaune managed to reach the quiet state of mind he used when training his aura. His perceptions ratcheted up, and Jaune could feel the excess aura drifting away.
He hadn't drawn much, thank Monty. His hands opened fully once his aura had returned to normal...allowing more than a few lengths of wood to fall from between his fingers.
Ah. Looking up, Jaune found that Ren was staring at him with narrowed eyes. JNPR's leader gave his friend a thumbs-up, before brushing off his hands and inspecting the damage. He had apparently exerted more pressure on the wood than it deigned to handle, and there were depressions in the surface where his fingers had been.
That had broken the coating on the wood, leading to a trail of miniscule fractures leading from a point where the wooden surface had splintered. It was less damaged than the wall in their bathroom, but it was also in a more noticeable place.
Jaune scanned the area, trying to see if anyone had noticed. His team had, obviously; Pyrrha was giving him a worried look, Ren was still scrutinising him and Nora was frowning ever so slightly...but also giving him a thumbs up for the destruction.
Apart from them, he couldn't see any signs of having been observed, so he relaxed back in to his seat. Ren leaned over to him, talking quietly.
"You handled that well. However, I think that we need to deal with your emotions before we do any advanced training with your aura." The blonde nodded silently. He knew the need for him to have some self-control just as much as his team did. I can't change things if I kill myself trying.
Satisfied that his team leader understood, the martial artist settled back to watching the end of the uninteresting duel which had been going on in the background. Nora settled with him, leaving Pyrrha to place her fingers lightly on her partner's.
Grateful for the contact, Jaune shifted his hand so that their fingers were entwined, and muttered a "Thank you." under his breath.
Pyrrha smiled, but didn't say anything. But she was suddenly feeling a lot more optimistic about her meeting later that day.
Author's Note
And yet another chapter where nothing truly happens. Mostly just groundwork here... still, it should all prove useful in time.
I hope you enjoyed reading this even partially as much as I enjoyed writing it. If you have any comments or criticism, please leave a review and I'll be sure to get back to you. Enjoy your day!